Instruments for contouring bones



p 1957 A. c. TUCK 2,807,264

INSTRUMENTS FO R CONTOURING BONES Filed Sept. 10, 1953 FIGZ) INVENTORALBERT C. TucK |7 BY MYM ATTORNEY States atet ffice Patented Sept. 24,1957 INSTRUMENTS FOR CONTOURING BONES Albert C. Tuck, Thomasville, Ga.Application September 10, 1953, Serial No. 379,396 1 Claim. (Cl.128-403) My invention relates to instruments suitable for contouring andremoving certain existing bony protuberances and abnormalities in themouth, and to instruments suitable for use in connection therewith. Ithas heretofore been necessary to prevent contact between the bonecontouring instruments and the surrounding soft tissues or muscles inorder to avoid trauma. Rongeurs or chisels have been commonly used inthe initial stages of such operations, the bone being subsequentlysmoothed with files. According to my method the bone is much moresatisfactorily smoothed by means of rotary grinders, the tips of whichare so formed that they may be used to retract the surrounding tissuesfrom the bone at the same time that it is being ground. By using my newmethod and instruments practically all trauma may be eliminated and theoperating time cut in half, which is invaluable to the patient as wellas to the surgeon.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a plan view of my three instruments;

Figure 2 shows one of these instruments in use in a patients mouth; and4 Figure 3 shows the results which have been achieved through use of mynew method and instruments.

Like reference characters refer to like elements throughout the severalviews.

My three instruments comprise shafts 10a, 10b and 10c, adapted to fit ina dental handpiece, straight or contraangle. These shafts carryelongated grinding elements 11a, 11b and 110, to which coatings of smalldiamond particles 12a, 12b, and 12c have been fused to form a grindingsurface. The instruments are made of stainless steel and the ends 13a,13b and 13c of the cylinders pposite the shafts are rounded, smoothedand highly polished so that they are incapable of causing trauma whenthey are brought gently into contact with the soft tissues of the mouthwhile the grinding surfaces formed by the diamond particles contour thebone, -as best illustrated in Figure 2. In this figure the grindingsurface 120, is in contact with the mandible 14 of the lower jaw, whilethe tip 13a presses back a portion of the gum 15. The handpiece 16 inwhich the instrument is mounted lies across the lower lip 17.

The grinding surface of each instrument has a distinctive shape enablingit to best perform certain spe cific contouring operations. The grindingelements 11a, 11b and 110, and their grinding surfaces are long andlonger than the width of the jaw bone, Figure 2. The grinding surface12a is cylindrical. The grinding surface 121) tapers from its outer endsto its center, is longi tudinally curved. and circular in cross section.grinding surface 120 tapers toward its forward end and is circular incross section. The end 130 has a larger diameter than the reduced end ofthe grinding surface 12c. The grinding surface 12b is designed forcontouring the torus linguli growths on the mandible and otherabnormalities in this area of the mandible. The end 13b with thepolished surface retracts the tissue in the floor of The.

the mouth. The grinding surface 12b gives the desired shape. Thegrinding surface 12c is designed to automatically contour the mylohyoidline area of the mandible, and the smooth head 13c retracts the tissueof the mylohyoid muscle. The cylindrical surface 12a can be usedgenerally in the surgical preparation of the mandible or maxilla forprosthesis. The polished end 1311 retracts the tissue during theprocedure.

In order to carry out my invention, after the diagnosis has beencompleted, it is imperative to make an adequate incision for the fieldof operation, for by doing so much trauma will be eliminated inmanipulating and retracting tissue. The periosteum in the field ofoperation must be completely retracted to permit the desired access.Along the internal oblique ridge of the mandible it is necessary toretract and lay this tissue back at least onefourth of an inch below thesharp line of bone to be re moved. When visibility is clear, I proceedto remove the amount of bone necessary to obtain the desired results.Ordinarily there is enough seepage of blood for lubrication, but ifthere is not, a small stream of sterile saline water must be used. Anaspirator will readily eliminate the excess fluids as well as the smallparticles of bone.

The bald, smoothly rounded stainless steel tip of the instrument maycome in contact with muscles or soft tissue, retracting it from the areaof operation and causing no trauma while the instrument is rotating atgreat speed contouring the bone to the desired form. The finish on thebone will be smooth and substantially more suitable for receivingdentures than one in which bone was removed by rongeurs or chisels,before smoothing with a file. The different designs of my instrumentsatford the operator a simple approach, resulting in a smooth surfacewith a minimum of trauma during the entire operation.

After such an operation the patient is able to wear immediate dcntureswith much more comfort, effectiveness and satisfaction, and lowerdentures may be worn with proper retention without having such bonyprotuberances present as are commonly caused by rongeurs, improperfiling, and improper preparation of the ridge.

After each operation the instruments should be scrubbed with a brush andwater to remove all blood clots and fragments. They should then beboiled in a concentrated soap solution for ten minutes. Any remainingparticles may then be removed with a brush. With proper care, theinstruments should last a lifetime.

lclaim:

An instrument for use in contouring the mylohyoid ridge of the human jawwithout traumatizing the mylohyoid muscle fibers comprising an elongatedrotatable grinding element having a grinding surface which tapersslightly in a uniform manner throughout its entire length from its rearend to its forward end, said element being circular in cross section,said element and grinding sur face being considerably longer axiallythan the width of the mylohyoid ridge, whereby reciprocation of theelement upon its longitudinal axis while the element is arrangedtransversely of the mylohyoid ridge wili not cause the element to moveentirely off of said ridge, a highly polished smoothly rounded convexend piece secured to the forward end of the grinding element and beingcircular in cross section and tapering forwardly to form a forwardextremity which is rounded but much smaller in diameter than the rearportion of said end piece and the forward end of said grinding element,the diameter of the rear portion of said end piece being considerablylarger than the diameter of the grinding ele ment near its forward end,so that the end piece extends radially beyond the forward end of thegrinding element for a substantial distance, the arrangement being suchthat the polished end piece engages the fibers of the nally 0rtransversely of the mylohyoidwidge for contouring the same, anda shanksecured to therear end ofthe,

grinding element and: extending axiallyi thereof. for connectionwith thechuck of a dental hand piece or the. like.

References Cited-n1 the-file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,099,984 Kirsten June 16, 1914 4 FOREIGN PATENTS 379,200 Great BritainAug. 25, 1932 500,538 Germany June 21, 1930 OTHER REFERENCES A SpecialTechnique for Reduction of the Mylohyoid Ridge, by Julius G. Godwin;Dental Digest, March 1946, pp. 133435. (Copy in Division 55.)

The Iota Catalogue, page 6, The Tartar Bur, No. 151,

10 01' Iota Works, Funke Bros. Ltd, Dusseldorf, 32-48.

(Copy in Div. 55.).

